Reid Says Democrats May Act on Own to Curb Filibusters

Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said he is waiting for a response from Republican leader Mitch McConnell before determining how to act on the procedural issue. Photographer: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
said Democrats will pursue their plan to curb the use of
filibusters to block legislation if the party and Republican
lawmakers don’t reach agreement on the matter this week.

A majority of Democrats -- at least 51 -- will vote for
some changes to the filibuster procedure, as long as those don’t
include requiring senators to hold the floor by talking
endlessly, Reid and Richard Durbin of Illinois, the chamber’s
second-ranking Democrat, said in interviews today.

Specifically, 51 Democrats would vote to eliminate the use
of the filibuster on motions to proceed to legislation, Durbin
said. There would also be majority support for limiting, or
disallowing altogether, use of the filibuster to block sending
bills to conference with the House or limiting debate on
judicial nominations, Durbin said.

Requiring senators who are filibustering to speak on the
floor for up to 30 hours of debate time could also have majority
support, Durbin said.

Durbin didn’t say whether there would be enough support to
pass a proposal by Senator Al Franken, a Minnesota Democrat,
that would require at least 41 senators to cast votes to keep a
filibuster going. That change, which he called the “Franken-wrinkle,” would reverse the current process that requires those
seeking to end a filibuster to record 60 votes.

Waiting on McConnell

Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said he is waiting for a response
from Republican leader Mitch McConnell before determining how to
act on the procedural issue.

Reid told reporters yesterday he would wait 24 to 36 hours
to see if a bipartisan agreement could be reached. “If not,
we’re going to move forward on our own,” Reid told reporters.

Reid wants to curtail the minority party’s use of the
filibuster that requires the supermajority of 60 votes to
advance or pass legislation, rather than a 51-vote majority of
the 100-member Senate. Democrats currently control 55 votes to
45 for the Republicans, meaning that when a filibuster is
invoked they need five Republican votes to advance legislation.
Reid contends changes are needed to keep Republicans from
obstructing bills.

Famed Film

The filibuster was made famous in the 1939 film “Mr. Smith
Goes to Washington.” The title character, portrayed by James
Stewart, collapses from exhaustion after speaking on the Senate
floor for almost 24 hours nonstop to delay a vote on a bill
during a dispute over corruption.

These days, senators seeking to block a bill don’t take to
the floor and speak for hours on end. Instead, Senate rules
allow any member to object at multiple stages in the legislative
process. A measure’s proponent then can start a multi-day
process, known as invoking cloture, to seek the 60 votes to move
forward.

A central change Reid has said he will seek is eliminating
senators’ ability to filibuster a request to bring a bill to the
floor. Senate Democrats discussed potential changes at closed-door lunch on Capitol Hill yesterday, and lawmakers leaving it
said no consensus was reached on a proposal.

Reid said that if Democrats and Republicans don’t reach
agreement on revising the filibuster this week, he will seek to
change Senate rules with a tactic that would require 51 votes
rather than the usual 67 votes, foreclosing the need for
Republican support.

‘Talking Filibuster’

Some Democratic senators, including Jeff Merkley of Oregon
and Tom Udall of New Mexico, propose requiring senators who want
to filibuster a bill to hold the floor and speak until one side
gives in. Durbin said today the “talking filibuster” idea
doesn’t have 51 votes to pass.

President Barack Obama’s ability to carry out his second-term agenda could be in jeopardy without a rule change, Merkley
told reporters.

“The president can’t act on legislation if the Senate
can’t act on legislation,” Merkley said. “It’s so important
that we end the secret, silent filibuster that has plagued this
body and that we reduce the number of times that any bill is
subject to it.”

Merkley suggested eliminating use of the filibuster to
block a request that the Senate and House form a conference
committee to resolve differences between different versions of a
bill.